By JOHN COOK, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Hamlet Inc., an online travel company founded by Oren Etzioni,, a University of Washington computer science professor, today is introducing a new name, Web site and venture capital backer.

The Seattle company, now known as Farecast, plans to announce $7 million in a second round of funding led by Greylock Partners. Existing investors, including Madrona Venture Group and WRF Capital, also participated. Total financing now stands at $8.5 million.

Farecast Chief Executive Hugh Crean, a former vice president at National Leisure Group and Priceline.com, said the money will be used for product development and recruiting. The 34-year-old executive, who joined Farecast in November, declined to discuss details of the company's online consumer travel service. Crean also declined to comment on the number of employees, though he did say Farecast moved this week to a new office in Seattle's lower Queen Anne neighborhood.

"We are growing like weeds over here," he said. New additions to the company in the past 12 months include vice president of engineering Jay Bartot, who previously worked at Seattle area startups Sightward and Netbot. Former Alaska Airlines executives Mike Fridgen and Dave Pelter also recently joined Farecast.

In an interview last fall, Etzioni said the company was developing a technology that allowed people to predict prices of airline tickets from various carriers. The technology, he said, could help someone decide when to buy tickets in order to get the best price.

Critics have questioned whether that is actually possible. But Etzioni, who sits on the company's board, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last year that it is "quite predictable."

Greylock's Moshe Mor, who joined the Farecast board as a result of the investment, said the consumer-oriented service will be unveiled in the next three to six months. Mor said Greylock invested in Farecast because of the strong management team, big market opportunity and innovative technology.

"It is a superior way to buy air travel over the Internet," he said.

That could set up competition with well-established online travel companies such as Bellevue-based Expedia, which will be spun off from its parent company, IAC/InterActive Corp., next month, or Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline.com, which reported revenue of $914 million last year.

Mor did not discount the possibilities of competing against those heavyweights. "At least it is going to be interesting," he said. But with $50 billion spent on online travel in the United States last year, Mor said he believes that Farecast will have a significant effect on how people buy airline tickets.